I. THOUGHT FORMS - Part 1

1. Their Function.

It will be noted that in studying this matter we have not started with that which is most apparent, the exoteric form in mental matter, but with the inner life or Idea within the form and with the Laws that govern the creative [552] aspect. This function of every thought form is threefold:

To respond to vibration

To provide a body for an idea

To carry out specific purpose.

Let us first study the logoic thought form and then turn our attention to the thought forms fabricated by the Thinker from the systemic mental planes and in mental matter. We have to note that, in the case of the Logos, all upon which we have to base our conclusions are His physical manifestation, and His quality, psychic nature, aroma, emanation or magnetism, as we see it working out through the form. Hence we are very much handicapped.

a. Response to Vibration. It is always recognised in occult circles that the whole object of human evolution is to enable the Thinker to respond to every contact fully and consciously, and thus to utilise his material sheath, or sheaths, as adequate transmitter of such contact. The most easily studied human thought-form is the one the Ego creates through which to function. He builds his sheaths by the power of thought, and the dense physical body is the best sheath that—at any particular stage of evolution—he can at the time manufacture. The same can be predicated of the solar Logos. He builds by the power of thought a body which can respond to that group of vibrations which are concerned with the cosmic physical plane (the only one we can study). It is not yet adequate, and does not fully express the logoic Thinker.

The vibrations to which the systemic thought-form must respond are many in number, but for our purposes might be enumerated as mainly seven:

1. The vibrations of the cosmic physical plane, viewing it as all the matter of that plane which exists [553] outside the logoic ring-pass-not. It concerns the pranic and akashic fluids and currents.

2. The vibrations of the cosmic astral plane as they affect the physical form of divine manifestation. This involves cosmically the action upon our solar Logos of the emotional quality of other cosmic entities, and concerns the magnetic effect upon Him of their psychic emanation. This, in view of the fact that His dense physical body is not a principle, is of a more potent nature than the first set of vibrations, as is the case also in man's evolution.

3. Vibrations from that which, within the logoic consciousness, is recognised as the logoic Higher Self, or His emanating source. This brings the solar system within the vibratory radius of certain constellations which have a position of profound importance in the general evolution of the system.

4. Vibrations from Sirius via the cosmic mental plane.

5. Vibrations from the seven Rishis of the Great Bear, and primarily from those two Who are the Prototypes of the Lords of the seventh and fifth Rays. This is a most important point, and finds its microcosmic correspondence in the place which the seventh Ray has in the building of a thoughtform, and the use of the fifth Ray in the work of concretion. All magicians who work with matter and who are occupied with form-building (either consciously or unconsciously) call in these two types of force or energy.

6. Certain very remote vibrations, as yet no more appreciable in the logoic Body than is monadic influence in that of average man, from the ONE ABOUT WHOM NAUGHT MAY BE SAID, that cosmic [554] Existence Who is expressing Himself through seven centres of force, of which our solar system is one.

7. A series of vibrations which will become more potent as our Logos nears that period which is occultly called "Divine Maturity," which emanate from that constellation in the Heavens which embodies His polar opposite. This is a deep mystery and concerns the cosmic marriage of the Logos.

It will be apparent, therefore, how little can as yet be predicated anent the future of the solar system until the vibrations of the sixth and seventh order become more powerful, and their effects can consequently be studied more easily. It is not possible here to do more than indicate the seven types of vibrations to which our solar Logos (functioning in a material body) will in due course of time consciously, and fully, respond. He responds to vibrations of the first, second, third and fourth order quite fully at this time, but as yet (though responding) cannot fully, and consciously, utilise these types of energy. The vibration of the fifth order is recognised by Him, particularly in three of His centres, but is not as yet fully under His control. The other two are sensed, and felt, but so remotely as to be almost outside the range of His consciousness.

In carrying out these ideas in connection with man and the thought forms which he fabricates (such as his material sheaths), the correspondence can be worked out within the system, and from the point of view of the planetary schemes in which man has his place. The work of man as he builds in mental thought matter and constructs forms extraneous to himself, we shall deal with later.

The methods whereby vibratory response is brought about might be enumerated as follows:

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Through the factor of time in evolution.

Through extra-systemic stimulation and intensive training, whether for a Logos or a man.

Through the process of Initiation, and the application of the Rods of Initiation.

The factor of evolution is recognised and studied by many schools of thought, esoteric or exoteric. The extrasystemic stimulation involves a large number of factors, but the main two to be remembered are that this stimulation will be applied:

Through the group to the unit.

Through a more evolved "Kingdom of Nature" to a less evolved.

As regards the third factor of Initiation, it must be borne in mind that we are here considering only the great initiations, and not the numerous expansions of consciousness which can be traced through all kingdoms and all manifestations.

In connection with what we have considered above, anent the primary function of a thought-form (the power to respond to vibration) I would emphasise the necessity of remembering that that response must be made by the inner embodied Idea, and that it will then through a complex reflex action, bring about response from the material sheath which veils it. Vibration is the result of subjective impulse, and makes its appeal to the subjective consciousness through impact upon whatever may be understood as substance; this impact is transmitted direct to the inner life, and in due turn is retransmitted to substance in the form of recognition or realisation. An analogous process may be studied in the nerve reactions of the physical frame, and their alliance with the brain consciousness.

As will be seen in the three worlds of man's emprise, man will work as a Creator and will follow a similar procedure. [556] His thought forms will be constructed of mental matter, chosen specifically because it vibrates to the same type of vibration as the Idea seeking embodiment, and these forms will persist—as does the logoic thought form, the solar system—for just as long as the factor of Will, or dynamic vitality, continues to hold it together.

This brings us to our next point:

b. To Provide a Body for an Idea. In this statement we have latent the basic principle of incarnation, and of activity, even of existence itself. It involves the expansion of our idea to include the cosmic mental plane as we consider the Logos, and as the creative faculty of man is studied we are taken to the mental plane of the solar system. One fundamental thought must here be given and. pondered upon: This creative impulse, this tendency towards the concretion of the abstract, this inherent ability to "take form" has its fullest expression as yet in physical matter. The "raison d'être" is that—for man—all substances with which he creates, all forms which he builds, and all processes of concretion which he carries on, are created, built and carried on within the physical body of the Logos. Herein can be found the reason for the emphasis laid in nature on the sex aspect, and on that of physical reproduction; it can be seen in all the kingdoms of nature, with the exception of the first and fifth. This is a most significant point and the exceptions should be studied in their widest connotation, for they contain the basic mystery of sex on the involutionary path, and on the evolutionary. In them we have the two extremes. It will have been noted that as the idea that the solar system is the physical vehicle of the Logos and His body of manifestation is grasped, many problems become elucidated, and two points especially will gradually be apprehended by the student, if he meditates and studies:

First. That in due course of time, as the Logos [557] achieves liberation from the trammels of physical matter, the whole objective system will come to be regarded as an idea or concept, clothed in a veil or sheath of subtler matter than the physical, and the logoic body will be viewed as the product of will and desire, and physical matter in any of its grades will not enter into its composition; it will simply be a desire body. This will bring about a condition of affairs inconceivable to us, and only to be somewhat apprehended by the man who can function upon the systemic buddhic plane the fourth cosmic ether. Bear in mind here that our astral plane is but the sixth subplane of the cosmic physical plane and that this provides us with no real grounds from which to reason concerning the cosmic astral plane. Only when the astral plane is a calm receiver of buddhic impulse, or a liquid reflector of that plane (which will not be till the close of the mahamanvantara) shall we be able to formulate any ideas anent the cosmic astral plane.

Second. That the entire sex aspect of manifestation, as we understand it in the different kingdoms of nature, is an expression of the energy of the Logos, as it flows through and stimulates that centre in His body which corresponds to the generative organs. All the creative functions of the vegetable, animal, and human family, viewing them as a whole, are as yet purely physical, and based on lower desire. The desire of the Logos for physical incarnation is as yet the dominant note. Later His desire for that will be less and will become transmuted into desire for creation on mental levels only. This is what brings the Destroyer aspect into activity, leading to eventual obscuration, and the physical "death" of the solar system. Indication that this aspect is coming into power will be seen when two great events transpire:

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a. The ability of man consciously to create on mental levels, and the consequent transmutation of his lower sex impulses into higher.

b. The mental vitalisation of another large section of the animal kingdom.

When these two things can be seen working out in any round, it will be indicative of a decided mental polarisation of the Logos; we can only become cognisant of this by studying His body of manifestation in its component parts.

What is here predicated anent the logoic thought form can be equally well stated about that of a Heavenly Man, and a planetary scheme. As His cosmic polarisation becomes more mental, and as His cosmic desire nature becomes transmuted, the force that plays through His centres will correspondingly be seen to vary in direction; He will withdraw force from certain of His lower centres and globes; He will cease to be interested in physical incarnation, and He will eventually withdraw within Himself. His thought-form will show a gradual diminution of vitality; the dense physical globe will die and pass out of objectivity, and other globes will temporarily hold His life, though not for long. In due course of time the entire scheme will be obscured, and He will function only in His cosmic astral body.

Such is the case too with a chain and its informing Life, viewing a chain as simply a centre in the body of the planetary Logos, yet having its own central factor. This can be seen in the Moon in a most interesting way. The desire of its Occupant was no longer for physical manifestation; He therefore withdrew His life. All that is left is the devitalised shell; the two other aspects have gone and only the third aspect, the inherent life of matter itself, remains gradually to dissipate also as the centuries elapse. In connection with man, a similar condition [559] is seen in the gradual disintegration of the physical body after death; the two other aspects are removed, and the form decays.

As these fundamental facts are grasped, and man begins to appreciate his position as Creator, the entire aspect of the sex question will also change; and emphasis will be laid upon the laws of mental creation, on the formulation of thought-forms in a scientific manner, and the dense physical aspect of creation will be in abeyance. When this is so, then will man be coming into his divine right, and the human kingdom be fulfilling its legitimate function. The sex aspect—as at present expressing itself—and the whole process of reproduction is one which man shares with the animal kingdom, and is based upon his animal instincts, and his dense physical nature, which is not a principle. When he is totally emancipated from the animal kingdom, and the third and fourth kingdoms stand distinct from each other, then the sex nature, and the organs of reproduction will be viewed by the average man in a very different manner than at present. Creation will eventually be the result of thought impulses and not desire impulses; the process will be then (once the initial impulse on the mental plane has been given), as normal, as safe, and as unconscious as the act of breathing is now. When this is so (and the time is a long way ahead), physical reproduction will still continue, but the physical form will be spoken of in terms of concretion and of energy, and the emphasis will be laid upon that which is to be embodied. This stage will be entered upon when the functions of the etheric body are scientifically grasped and understood and the laws of creative thought are a matter of public knowledge and discussion; it will coincide with a period wherein the animal kingdom will again be under manasic impression, and individualisation will again be permitted.

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It will be generally recognised at that time that Spirit-matter are two aspects of the one Unity, and the present terminology of Spirit, and material substance, will have given place to the broader concept of negative and positive energy as the two aspects of the One Energy. All phenomena will then be expressed in force terms, and the sex question—or the union of the male and female, the negative and the positive, on the physical plane—will be redeemed and purified.

An embodied idea, therefore, is literally a positive impulse, emanating from mental levels, and clothing itself in a veil of negative substance. These two factors in turn will be regarded as emanations from a still greater force centre, which is expressing purpose through them both.

A thought form, as constructed by man, is the union of a positive emanation and a negative. These two are the emanations of a Unity, the coherent Thinker.

c. To Carry Out Specific Purpose. We touch here upon the most vital element in the building of thoughtforms. In our first point we touched upon the aspect of consciousness, or "response to sensation, or feeling," and thus brought into our study of the building process the second aspect logoic, that of the Ego, or the realisation of essential duality. In our second point the more objective aspect was somewhat elaborated, and the tangible form dealt with, thus bringing in the third logoic aspect, that of intelligent substance, or that through which consciousness seeks expression. Now the will or purpose aspect is to be considered, bringing therefore the first aspect logoic, or the "will-to-be" to the fore. When this third point is meditated upon with care, it will be noted (as might be expected) that it includes the other two, and synthesises them.

Certain factors must be borne in mind as we consider these words " specific purpose." By their tabulation [561] we shall endeavour to make as clear as may be, this very complex matter. The ideas involved are:

The Factor of Identity. Specific purpose is the practical application of the will, or intent, of a conscious intelligent Existence as it shows itself in:

a.Its source

b. Its mission

c. Its method

d.Its objective.

All these will vary according to the nature of the emanating Identity. All thought forms—logoic, planetary, and human—(for no other entities of lesser grade work as mental creators), emanate from a mind, are built for the purpose of carrying out some active work, demonstrate under set rules and laws, and have a definite goal, or expected consummation.

The Factor of Time. Specific purpose in the solar system is the gradual evolution of a definite plan originating in the Mind of the Logos, and slowly, and cyclically, achieving consummation. Three vast periods of time are consumed in the process:

The period of construction, wherein the form is built.

The period of utilisation, wherein the form is occupied, vitalised by a central Life, and employed.

The period of dissolution, wherein the form is devitalised, destroyed and dissipated.

In the first stage, that which concerns the tangible, that which deals with objectivity, is the more emphasised, and of supreme importance. In the second stage, the life within the form, or the subjective consciousness, comes gradually to the fore, and the quality, or the psyche of the thought-form, becomes apparent. In the final stage, the thought form (having performed its mission), separates into its basic duality, and will or energy (which lies, as a unity, back of duality), ceases in intent.

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The objective life (spiritual life where cosmic thought-forms are concerned; manasic life when solar thought-forms are constructed; and elemental life where human thought-forms are built) withdraws and the form dissipates.

In all these cases it will be apparent that only in the study of the development of the quality of the thought-form will its inherent purpose be revealed; only as its emanative processes are comprehended will the nature of its mission become recognisable. This is true fundamentally of all forms. Where the relatively unimportant forms—such as those constructed by man at this time—are concerned, this can easily be discovered, and to the trained clairvoyant each form reveals:

By its colour,

By its vibration,

By its direction,

By its keynote,

the nature of the inner life, the quality of its vibration and the nature of its goal. In the summation of all these points will the purpose reveal itself.

The Factor of Karma. Every thought-form comes under the law of Karma through the effect it produces. At this stage in the history of the system—that vast transitional stage between dense physical life and existence in the logoic etheric body—it is not easy for us to differentiate between those thought forms which are effects and those which are causes. It should be remembered here that only cosmic and solar lords formulate thoughts. The lunar Lords and all lesser intelligences do not do so. Therefore, the two above mentioned groups come under karmic law. They only are self-conscious, and therefore responsible. Where self-consciousness is not, there is no responsibility. Hence animals are not held to be responsible, and though they [563] suffer on the physical plane and in their physical vehicles, on the subtler planes they are freed from karma, for they have neither memory nor anticipation; they lack the correlating faculty and as the spark of mind is missing, they are held free from the law of retribution, except where the physical body is concerned. The reason for the suffering in the animal kingdom is hidden in the mystery of the sin of the mindless, [clxxx]80 and in that terrible period spoken of in the Secret Doctrine, which resulted in abortions and distortions of all kinds. Had this period not occurred, and this particular type of "miscarriage of purpose" not taken place, we should not have had the fearful karmic relationship which now exists between the third and the fourth kingdom.

The effect of the life and persistence of a thought-form, if maleficent and destructive, works out as "evil karma" if beneficent it works as "good karma" in the group in which the emanator has a place. This is what is meant by there being no karma attached to the working out of a good and altruistic deed.

The Factor of the Lesser Builders. Here a most interesting factor comes in upon which we shall enlarge later, when considering the elementals. The specific purpose of a thought-form is connected very closely with the type of deva essence of which it is constructed, and (in connection with man on the mental plane), with the type of elemental which he can control, and send forth as the occupier, or vitalising agency of the thoughtform. Roughly speaking, a solar Logos works only through the greater Builders, the Manasaputras in Their [564] various grades on the two higher planes of the solar system. He works through Them, and sends Them forth upon the mission of constructing, and vitalising the systemic thought-form, with a specific purpose in view. The planetary Logoi work primarily through the Builders of the next three planes (atma-buddhi-manas), who construct and control the work of the planetary schemes. Men work through the builders of the lower mental planes, and the astral plane, for the human thought-forms are kama-manasic; the physical plane builders are swept automatically into action by the force of the currents, and energies set up in subtler matter, by the great Builders.

The inserted tabulation opposite may make this clear.

If the table is carefully studied, it will be seen that the fivefold earlier enumeration concerns the most important kingdoms in nature, whilst the final two are peculiarly interesting in that the mineral kingdom can in no sense be considered a principle, but simply the densest point of concretion of the abstract, and that the vegetable kingdom has a peculiar place in the economy of the system as the transmitter of the vital pranic fluid; the vegetable kingdom is definitely a bridge between the conscious and the unconscious. Here I am using these words in their broadest and most general sense. Though it is known that the mineral kingdom has a consciousness of its own, yet sensation ismore distinctly recognisable in the second kingdom, and the distinction between the consciousness of the mineral and that of the animal is so vast that their respective consciousnesses are basically unlike. Between these stands the vegetable kingdom, approximating more generally the animal consciousness than the mineral, and having a most esoteric relationship to the deva evolution.

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TABULATION IV

THE BUILDING ENTITIES

Quality

Entity

Centre

Personality

Kingdom

1.

Atma

Logos

Head (Brain)

Grand Heavenly

Seventh

Unity

Man

2-3

Buddhi manas

Planetary Logos

Heart and Throat

Heavenly Men

Sixth and
Fifth

Duality

4.

Mental

Man

Solar Plexus

Man

Fourth

Triplicity

Base of the Spine

5.

Astral

Animal

Generative Organs

Third

Duality

6.

Etheric

Vegetable

Spleen

Second

Transitional

7.

Dense

Mineral

None

First

Unity

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All these kingdoms of nature are "forms of thought"; all have body, vitality, quality and purpose, and all are sent out by a greater life than their own upon a specific mission; they are sent forth by those who are self-conscious and are a blend of mind, spirit and objective form. Only the self-conscious can create, and only they are capable of purpose, of co-ordination, of direction and control.

Even though it may seem that much has been left unsaid, yet in due consideration of the above four points in connection with "purpose" in a thought-form, much can be worked out by the student himself.

In extending these ideas to a solar Logos, many questions of interest arise which are profitable only in so far as they expand the concept, and widen the horizon of the Thinker. The logoic purpose is not yet comprehensible to man; it does not profit him to meditate thereon, yet in the formulation of ideas, and their apprehension by thinkers may come the gradual dawning of a day of recognition, and a subsequent co-operation with that divine purpose. Let us, therefore, formulate some of these questions, leaving the future to reveal the answer:

1. What may be the purpose of the present incarnation of the solar Logos?

2. What is the purpose which may perhaps be working out in our own planetary scheme and what is the basic plan of our planetary Logos?

3. Wherein does it differ from other planetary schemes?

4. What is the purpose lying back of the relation existing between our Earth and Venus?

5. Is the purpose of the animal kingdom, as a whole, in any way to be ascertained?

6. What is the purpose back of the present root-race evolution? Can we realise it?

7. What is the purpose behind the differing national forms?

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Let us next bring the whole idea down to a more practical basis, and formulate questions along the following lines:

1. In what type of matter do I usually formulate thoughts?

2. What is the psychic quality of my thought-forms?

3. With what specific purpose do I use mental matter?

4. Do I work in mental matter consciously or unconsciously?

5. Do I vitalise my thought-forms with a high or a low order of entity?

6. Do I study the laws of construction?

7. Do I realise the power of the will to vitalise?

8. Do I destroy thought-forms when they have accomplished their purpose by a conscious act of the will?

9. Do I make forms which bring karmic effects, or do I build those which go to the good of the group?

Many such thoughts will arise, and in the study of thought man learns the laws of being.

2. The Laws of Thought.

There are three great laws, that we might term the fundamental laws of the cosmos, of that greater system (recognised by all astronomers), of which we form a part, and seven laws inherent in the solar system. These seven we might consider secondary laws, though, from the standpoint of humanity, they appear as major ones.

a. Three Cosmic Laws. The first of the cosmic laws is the Law of Synthesis. It is almost impossible for those of us who have not the buddhic faculty in any way developed, to comprehend the scope of this law. It is the law that demonstrates the fact that all things—abstract and concrete—exist as one; it is the law governing the thought form of that One of the cosmic Logoi [568] in Whose consciousness both our system, and our greatercentre, have a part. It is a unit of His thought, a thought form in its entirety, a concrete whole, and not the differentiated process that we feel our evolving system to be. It is the sumtotal, the centre and the periphery, and the circle of manifestation regarded as a unit.

The second law is the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. Fundamentally, the law describes the compelling force of attraction that holds our solar system to the Sirian; that holds our planets revolving around our central unit, the sun; that holds the lesser systems of atomic and molecular matter circulating around a centre in the planet; and that holds the matter of all physical plane bodies, and that of the subtle bodies co-ordinated around their microcosmic centre.

The third law is the Law of Economy, and is the law which adjusts all that concerns the material and spiritual evolution of the cosmos to the best possible advantage and with the least expenditure of force. It makes perfect each atom of time, and each eternal period, and carries all onward, and upward, and through, with the least possible effort, with the proper adjustment of equilibrium, and with the necessary rate of rhythm. Unevenness of rhythm is really an illusion of time, and does not exist in the cosmic centre. We need to ponder on this, for it holds the secret of peace, and we need to grasp the significance of that word through, for it describes the next racial expansion of consciousness, and has an occult meaning.

In the nomenclature of these laws much is lost, for it is well nigh impossible to resolve abstractions into the terms of speech, and not lose the inner sense in the process. In these laws we again have the threefold idea demonstrated, and the correspondence, as might be expected, holds good.

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The Law of Synthesis

The Will Aspect

1st Aspect.

The Law of Attraction

The Love Aspect

2nd Aspect.

The Law of Economy

The Activity Aspect

3rd Aspect.

b. Seven Systemic Laws.—Subsidiary to the three major laws, we find the seven laws of our solar system. Again we find the law of analogy elucidating, and the three becoming the seven as elsewhere in the logoic scheme. In each of these seven laws we find an interesting correlation with the seven planes. They are:

1. The Law of Vibration, the basis of manifestation, starting on the first plane. This is the atomic law of the system, in the same sense that on each of our planes the first subplane is the atomic plane.

2. The law of Cohesion. On the second plane cohesion is first apparent. It is the first molecular plane of the system, and is the home of the Monad. Divine coherency is demonstrated.

3. The Law of Disintegration. On the third plane comes the final casting-off, the ultimate shedding of the sheaths, of the fivefold superman. A Chohan of the sixth Initiation discards all the sheaths beneath the monadic vehicle, from the atmic to the physical.

4. The Law of Magnetic Control holds sway paramountly on the buddhic plane, and in the development of the control of this law lies hid the control of the personality by the Monad via the egoic body.

5. The Law of Fixation demonstrates principally on the mental plane and has a close connection with manas, the fifth principle. The mind controls and stabilises, and coherency is the result.

6. The Law of Love isthe law of the astral plane. It aims at the transmutation of the desire nature, and links it up with the greater magnetism of the love aspect on the buddhic plane.

7. The Law of Sacrifice and Death isthe controlling factor on the physical plane. The destruction of the form, in order that the evolving life may progress, is one of the fundamental methods in evolution.

The Intermediate Law of Karma.—There is also an intermediate law, which is the synthetic law of the system [570] of Sirius. This law is called by the generic term, the Law of Karma, and really predicates the effect the Sirian system has on our solar system. Each of the two systems, as regards its internal economy, is independent in time and space, or (in other words), in manifestation. We have practically no effect on our parent system, the reflex action is so slight as to be negligible, but very definite effects are felt in our system through causes arising in Sirius. These causes, when experienced as effects, are called by us the Law of Karma, and at the beginning they started systemic Karma which, once in effect, constitutes that which is called Karma in our occult and oriental literature.

The Lipika Lords of our system, the systemic Lords of Karma, are under the rule of a greater corresponding Lord on Sirius.

We have therefore:

1. The three cosmic laws of Synthesis, Attraction and Economy.

2. The Sirian law of Karma.

3. The seven laws of the solar system.

As we have been told, our seven major vibrations are the vibrations of the lowest cosmic plane; there is our habitat. Our Logos Himself, the heart of His system, is on the cosmic astral plane; he is polarised there. Just as the units of the fourth Creative Hierarchy, the human, are evolving through the use of physical bodies, but are polarised at this time in their astral vehicles, so we have seen that the objective solar system forms the physical body of the Logos, though His polarity is in His astral body. It is significant that in this greater manvantara, the Logos is to take the fourth cosmic Initiation. A hint which may enlighten lies in the correspondence which exists between this statement and the [571] fourth root-race development, and this, the fourth or astral round. [clxxxi] 81

The system of the Sirian Logos is on the cosmic mental plane, and in a subtle way, incomprehensible to us, our Logos, with His system, forms a part of a still greater Logos. This does not involve loss of identity, though the matter is too abstruse to express more adequately. It is in this analogy that the basic idea can be found of all teaching given out about the Grand Heavenly Man. The whole conception of these laws is bound up in this idea. We have the three laws of the cosmic higher planes, holding in a synthesis of beauty the greater and the lesser system. Next we have the great law of Sirius, the Law of Karma, on the third subplane of the cosmic mental plane, which law really controls our Logos, and His actions, in the same way as the ego—in due course of evolution—controls the human personality.

We need to remember that, under the Law of Correspondences, we shall have a relationship in the Cosmos, similar to that existing in the microcosm between the ego and the personality. The suggestion holds much that we might consider with benefit. We must not, however, carry the analogy too far; as we have not yet evolved to where we have planetary consciousness, still less systemic, how can we really expect even to conceive of the A B C of cosmic truth? Just broad hints, wide conceptions, and generalities, are as yet possible. Of one thing we can be sure, and that is that identity ever remains.

Let me explain by illustration:

Each one of us, in due process of evolution, forms part of one of the Heavenly Men, Who Themselves form the [572] seven centres in that greater Heavenly Man, the Logos. Yet, though we are merged with the whole, we do not lose our identity, but forever remain separated units of consciousness, though one with all that lives or is. In like manner our Logos loses not His identity, even though He forms part of the Consciousness of the Logos of Sirius. In His turn, the Sirian Logos forms one of the seven Grand Heavenly Men, who are the centres in the body of ONE OF WHOM NOUGHT MAY BE SAID.

The Laws and the Planes.—We might, while studying the seven laws of the solar system, take them plane by plane, showing certain things—three in all:

1. We might study their effect as they demonstrate on the path of involution.

2. As they manifest on the path of evolution, or return.

3. We might also touch on the laws as they affect the human and deva organisms that evolve by means of them.